He is 37 and hit just .239/.270/.326 last season for the Giants. After 15 seasons, he appears to not have much left.

Still, Tejada wants a shot to come full circle with the organization that brought him to America.

“I would love it,” he said to Slusser (SFGate.com). “I have always loved the A’s. That’s the organization that gave me a chance when I was a little kid in the Dominican. They opened all the doors for me. … That’s my family.”

Tejada played for the A's for parts of seven seasons, winning the 2002 AL MVP as their shortstop.

The Oakland Athletics have suffered a big blow to their prospective infield. The club announced Monday night that third baseman Scott Sizemore will miss the entire season, as he's torn the ACL in his left knee. Due to swelling in the knee, Sizemore will be re-evaluated in two weeks to see if a surgery date can then be set.

“I really feel badly for Scott,” manager Bob Melvin said in a release. “He’s worked extremely hard and was ready for a breakout season this year. We were counting on him to provide some much-needed power from the right side of the plate. Now his total focus has to be on a successful surgery and rehabilitation so he can return stronger than ever. In his absence, we feel we have some viable options in Adam Rosales, Eric Sogard and Josh Donaldson. They can all bring something to the position.”

Obviously, season-ending injuries to starters are always big blows, but the A's could have better handled it to an outfielder, where they have Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick, Yoenis Cespedes, Jonny Gomes, Brandon Allen, Collin Cowgill and several others. At third base, the A's were paper thin before this injury.

Melvin mentioned three options, but none are good ones.

Rosales is a 28-year-old utility infielder who logged just 43 innings at third last season. Worse yet, he hit just .098/.162/.197 and is a career .226 hitter who doesn't walk much or have power.

Sogard, 25, hit .200/.243/.329 in 74 plate appearances for the A's last season. He played just 70 innings at third. He's a career .298 hitter against Triple-A pitching with marginal power at best.

Donaldson is a 26-year-old catcher-by-trade, but appeared in 27 games at third in Triple-A last season -- where he hit .261/.344/.439 with 17 homers in 503 plate appearances.

Otherwise, the A's are left scraping the bottom of the barrel -- if they aren't already doing so with Rosales, Sogard or Donaldson -- or searching outside the organization.

Sizemore, 27, hit .249/.345/.433 with 11 homers and 52 RBI for the A's in 93 games after coming over in a late May trade from Detroit.

What if players were only permitted to stay with the team that originally made them a professional? No trades, no Rule-5 Draft, no minor or major league free agency ... once you are a professional baseball player, you stay in that organization. This series shows how all 30 teams would look. We give you: Homegrown teams.To view the schedule/past entries of this feature, click here.

For today's installment of the Homegrown series, I can't stop thinking about a certain trade. Earlier this week, I was reminded of the deal anyway. In a pretty minor move, the Rays traded for relief pitcher Burke Badenhop. That's worth discussing here because he was the last standing of six players Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski sent to the Marlins for Miguel Cabrera (and Dontrelle Willis, for that matter). To acquire one of the biggest superstars in baseball -- and a now-washed up pitcher -- Dombrowski dealt Badenhop, Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Eulogio De La Cruz, Dallas Trahern and Mike Rabelo. Upon Badenhop being dealt, the Marlins now have nothing left to show for the 28-year-old Cabrera. Trahern is stuck in Double-A and appears unlikely to help the big-league club, either.

So, yeah, this homegrown club is missing a huge bat in the middle of the order. But this is also an opportunity to praise Dombrowski for one hell of a trade.

That guy sitting atop the starting rotation is pretty decent, no? Getting 34 or so starts out of Justin Verlander gives this ballclub a great chance to win plenty of low-scoring games. Jurrjens is a fine number two as well. I love Avila behind the plate and Maybin in left field would be a defensive force -- most metrics showed Maybin as a far superior defender in center to Granderson this past season, but I went with the logic that Granderson would stay in center as the star of the team. If he wanted to pull a Cal Ripken and move, OK, the defense gets even better. Finally, the bench depth is pretty good, as there are several guys capable of providing good spot starts.

What's Not?

While it's definitely not awful, that batting order leaves a lot to be desired. Joyce is really good and Granderson is great. Otherwise? I'll channel my inner Larry David and just say "eh." There would be an awful lot of pressure on Boesch and Avila in those run producing spots, that's for sure. Also, while it's not horrible, that bullpen bridge to Cordero isn't exactly one that eases the mind. Can you imagine how many cigarettes Jim Leyland would have to choke down to stomach a night with Badenhop, Frasor and Rodney tasked with putting up zeroes? They can do it, but they'll just about give you a heart attack in the process.

Comparison to real 2011

I'll go out on a limb here (please note sarcasm) and say winning 95 games and cruising to the AL Central title is about as realistic with this group as this exercise. A winning record might be possible, as this team feels just mediocre. The likes of Verlander, Granderson, Avila, Joyce and Jurrjens keep them away from "suck" territory. I'd go high-70s in wins with a ceiling of 83 victories.

Jorge Posada, Yankees: For the first time since he'd been benched, Posada was in the Yankees' starting lineup on Saturday. He may have made manager Joe Girardi reconsider things, if only briefly. Posada was 3 for 5 with six RBI including a grand slam in the the fifth inning off of Rays reliever Brandon Gomes as part of the Yankees' 9-2 victory. It was Posada's fifth career six-RBI day and will be in the lineup as the DH again on Sunday.

Miguel Cairo, Reds: For the first time in his 16-year career, Cairo hit more than one homer in a game, blasting two homers against the Padres in the Reds' 13-1 victory. The 37-year-old now has a career-best seven homers on the season, besting his 2004 total of six with the Yankees. The Reds clubbed seven homers in all, with Cairo and Ryan Hanigan hitting two each. Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier also homered. The first five homers of the game came off starter Tim Stauffer, who last just three innings, and Cairo's second homer was off reliever Anthony Bass and Hanigan hit his second off of Joe Thatcher.

Asdrubal Cabrera, Indians: Cabrera's third inning three-run homer was the Indians' only offense of the day, but it was enough for Cleveland's 3-1 victory over the Twins. It was Cabrera's 20th homer of the season, making him just the third Indians shortstop to hit that many home runs in a season. Jhonny Peralta and Woodie Held each accomplished the feat three times, with Peralta's 24-homer season in 2005 setting the team mark for homers by a shortstop. While that doesn't sound like much, Cabrera entered the season with just 18 homers in his career. He also reached a career-high with 71 RBI.

Jered Weaver, Angels: In his first game back from a six-game suspension, the Blue Jays hit Weaver harder than Carlos Guillen. The Angels' ace lasted just 4 2/3 innings, allowing eight runs on eight hits. His eight runs were as many as he'd allowed in his previous seven starts and the three homers were as many as he'd allowed in his last 80 1/3 innings. Adam Lind's grand slam coped a five-run fifth, marking the first time Weaver had allowed mor ethan four runs in a start since Aug. 17, 2010. Edwin Encarnacion and Mark Teahen also homered off of Weaver, whose ERA jumped from 1.78 to 2.13.

Oakland Athletics: The A's committed four errors and had two wild pitches in a 7-1 loss to the Rangers, but A's manager Bob Melvin said, "Really, we played worse than that" (via the San Francisco Chronicle). Oakland starter Trevor Cahill took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Yorvit Torrealba broke it up with a one-out single. That same inning, Jemile Weeks committed two errors on one play, setting up Ian Kinsler's RBI double for the game's first run. Shortstop Eric Sogard had an error in the fifth and third baseman Scott Sizemore's eight-inning error led to an unearned run in the three-run Rangers' eighth. The A's lead the big leagues with 98 errors in 119 games.

Jeremy Guthrie, Orioles: With a 5-1 lead, Guthrie allowed six consecutive two-out hits and five runs in the sixth inning, leading to a 6-5 loss to the Tigers. In his first 5 2/3 innings, the right-hander had allowed just two hits and a run but then fell apart. Guthrie fell to 5-16 on the season and the Orioles have lost nine of 11.

Prince Fielder, Brewers -- Fielder's two-run homer capped a four-run sixth inning, giving the Brewers a 4-3 victory over the Cardinals and putting Milwaukee atop the National League Central. Fielder was 2 for 3 with a walk and leads the National League with 58 RBI. His homer was his eighth in the last 10 games -- a period that has seen the team go 8-2. The Brewers are 25-9 at home, the best mark in baseball.

Tommy Hanson, Braves -- The Braves right-hander struck out a career-high 14 batters in seven innings in a 4-1 victory over the Astros. Hanson gave up one run on three hits, walking two. Hanson's now 8-4 with a 2.48 ERA on the season and 3-0 with a 0.97 ERA in five career starts against Houston.

Vin Mazzaro, Royals -- Mazzaro entered Sunday's game with a 17.47 ERA, giving up six runs in five innings against Toronto last week. On Sunday, he didn't give up a single run in seven innings against the Angels, allowing just five hits. It wasn't easy, the Angels put their leadoff hitter on base in five of the first six innings, but the Royals turned five double plays to help him out. Mazzaro walked five and didn't strike out any batters, while just 53 of his 102 pitches went for strikes. Mazzaro not only picked up his first win of the season, but also saw his ERA drop by nearly seven runs to 10.80.

Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies -- Jimenez gave up 11 hits and seven runs (although just two earned) while striking out two and walking one in 5 1/3 innings of a 10-8 loss to the Dodgers on Sunday. Jimenez is 0-5 with a 7.05 ERA at Coors Field this season. All seven of the homers he's allowed this season -- including three against the Dodgers -- have come at home. Opponents are hitting .333 against him at home and .127 on the road.

Scott Sizemore, Athletics -- Sizemore was on the other side of this list just two days ago, but his error Sunday helped lead to the A's ninth loss in their last 10 games. Sizemore tied the game in the seventh with a solo homer, but in bottom half of the inning he threw wide to second on a double-play attempt with one out, allowing a run to score and leading to another. It was the 51st error of the season by the A's, second only to Texas for the most in the American League.

Adam Jones, Orioles -- Jones misplayed a liner by Evan Longoria in the eighth inning that then rolled to the wall and allowed Longoria to circle the bases for a two-run inside-the-park home run. "I missed the ball," Jones told MASNSports.com's Roch Kubatko. "I had a shot at it. I just missed the ball." It wasn't a crucial pair of runs for the Rays, but it was an embarrassing moment for a former Gold Glove winner in a sloppy loss for the Orioles.

Scott Sizemore, Athletics -- Sizemore's two-out, three-run double in the ninth gave the A's a 7-5 victory over the White Sox on Friday. With the hit, the A's snapped their 10-game losing streak and gave Bob Melvin his first victory at the helm in Oakland. Sizemore was 3 for 4 on the night and is 5 for 9 since joining the A's.

Dillon Gee, Mets -- Gee became the first rookie to start a season 7-0 since Jered Weaver won nine in a row in 2006. It's the fourth-best streak to start a season in Mets history. Gee gave up a run in the first, but nothing else as he went eight innings in the 8-1 Mets victory. Gee allowed eight hits, all singles, while striking out five and walking none.

Ichiro's replacements -- Carlos Peguero started in right field for the slumping Ichiro Suzuki, while Chone Figgins was leading off instead of Suzuki. Both notched a pair of hits, with Peguero hitting a homer and a triple, scoring twice. Figgins, who entered the game hitting .187, recorded a single and a double in the Mariners' 3-2 victory over the Tigers.

Charlie Morton, Pirates -- Morton looked more like the 2010 Charlie Morton than the 2011 version on Friday, allowing seven runs -- six earned -- and nine hits in just four-plus innings. His ERA rose more than a half-run, from 2.52 to 3.08, dropping the Pirates to two games under .500 on the season.

Carlos Zambrano, Cubs -- Carlos Marmol didn't have a chance to blow a lead as Zambrano put the Cubs in a seven-run hole in Philadelphia, exiting following Placido Polanco's seventh-inning grand slam. Zambrano, of course, criticized his teammates and closer following a blown save in St. Louis on Sunday.

Kyle Lohse, Cardinals -- Lohse gave up four runs on five hits in five innings in the Cardinals' 8-0 loss to the Brewers. He hasn't won at Miller Park since June 26, 2005, when he was a member of the Minnesota Twins and hasn't beaten the Brewers since July 25, 2007, as a member of the Reds.

We're approaching the time in baseball where it's time to pay attention to Triple-A performances, as they will start impacting decisions on promotions and demotions.

In fact, it's already started as Jerry Sands was promoted to be the Dodgers' new left fielder after bashing five home runs in 10 games for Triple-A. Here's a look at some of the hottest performers down one rung of the ladder.

HITTERS

Anthony Rizzo, Padres -- Rizzo is hitting a ludicrous .436/.483/.764 in 60 plate appearances, bashing four home runs as a 21-year-old. Rizzo was supposed to be a legitimate prospect, but it appears as if he may have taken a major step forward this year to make Padres fans quickly forget about losing Adrian Gonzalez. With Brad Hawpe flailing, the Padres may want to call up Rizzo as soon as the calendar flips to June and it becomes unlikely he can qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player. At the very least, Rizzo's all but locked up making his big-league debut at some point this season.

Scott Sizemore, Tigers -- As the Tigers scuffle to find a solution at second base, the answer is staring at them in Toledo. Sizemore, who was supposed to become Detroit's second baseman last season before a broken leg dashed his hopes, is off to a .389/.463/.556 start in 41 PA. The Tigers will be forced to make a move at some point as they're already moving away from Wil Rhymes to Ryan Raburn. Raburn's shifting over from left to get Brennan Boesch's hot bat in the lineup, so Detroit will delay any decision a little while longer.

Wily Mo Pena, Diamondbacks -- A nice comeback story, as Pena famously cranked 26 home runs for the Reds back in 2004 as a 22-year-old, was traded to Boston with a heap of expectations, bombed spectacularly and eventually found himself in the independent leagues. The Padres gave him a flier last season in Triple-A after his indy stint, which went so well he got an offer from the Diamondbacks where currently leads the PCL in home runs with six and is just one behind the leader for overall Triple-A superiority. The 29-year-old needs to keep it up a bit longer and show he can actually hit a breaking pitch this time around, but if he keeps up this production, Arizona will find room for him in a hurry.

PITCHERS

Julio Teheran, Braves -- Teheran can't even drink yet, but he's baffling Triple-A hitters by posting a 1.69 ERA over 16 innings. His strikeout numbers are way down as his 11/6 K/BB rate suggests, but that will eventually rise. Considered one of, if not the, best pitching prospect in the game, Atlanta is ridiculously deep so it's possible they hold him back the entire year especially given his age, but this much is certain thus far in Teheran's career: you can't count him out, and he will eventually hold the top spot in the Braves' rotation.

Dontrelle Willis, Reds (pictured) -- Willis couldn't make the Reds out of spring training as a left-handed reliever, so he headed to the farm to function as a starter. And he's doing quite well, twirling 17 innings of one-run ball and punching out 15 while walking five. Let's not hop back on the D-Train just yet, but it's fantastic to see a good guy who fell on hard times start to figure things out again. The Reds rotation figures to undergo quite a few changes as the year progresses, so Willis could figure into the situation by year's end.

Brad Mills, Blue Jays -- Toronto has jettisoned Jesse Litsch and Brett Cecil from the rotation in the last few days, so Mills may be the first on this list to get the call to the majors. The 26-year-old has a career 7.80 ERA in the majors over 30 innings but seems to have figured things out this year. He has a sparkling 0.82 ERA in three starts. While his strikeout rate of 7.0 batters per nine is lower than his minor-league career mark of 8.6, his BB/9 is down from a career line of 3.3 to 2.0. Yeah, that'd do it. If Toronto doesn't shift reliever Marc Rzepczynski back to the rotation to fill the void, bet on Mills getting the call.